A Dangerous Game
by bittersweetsomebody
Summary: It's Victoire Weasley's last year at Hogwarts, and there are a few questions that she needs answered. Why are her aunts and uncles constantly disappearing on missions? What is a Padfoot? Who is Fred? And most importantly...what is a horcrux? Follow both Victoire and Harry as they search for Voldemort's final horcrux, one that not even Dumbledore knew about.
1. Privet Drive

I've had this idea kind of boiling in my mind for awhile, but haven't done much about it. I haven't used fanficiton in awhile, but I figured I'd get my lovely creative juices flowing again…sooo here we go…

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and her genius brain. **

Ginny pulled the hood of the cloak low over her face and tucked her fiery hair into a bun inside of it. She huddled her gorgeous sons Albus and James close to her in an embrace. "Whatever happens, I love you. Understand that," she whispered, "and never forget it." She twisted the rusted knob on the front door of the Potter house and creaked it slowly open, making sure that the darkness was safe to step out in. "Stay close," she told her boys.

"But…Mum," Albus half-shouted.

"Shh!" Ginny scolded.

"What about Lily?" The face of Albus Severus Potter could not have looked more terrified.

"She's with your father," Ginny gulped. "It's safer that way." Of course, she had no business telling anyone that what they were doing was safe. Her husband played a dangerous game, and she'd been fool enough to get involved with it.

Ginny urged her sons to keep up with her as she hurried down the cobblestone pathway that led from their home.

Every howl of wind, ever shuffle of leaves, every breath, Ginny jumped. It was her job to get her boys to safety, even if the cost was her life.

They were getting closer to their destination by the second, but it raised Ginny's nerves rather than calming them. Something was wrong, out of place.

A shuffle sounded in the shrubbery on the opposite side of the road, and Ginny gasped.

"Mum!" James whispered frantically, "Mum, what is that?"

Whatever it was that James had seen, Ginny wasn't planning on sticking around to find out for herself. She grabbed the arms of both her boys, one on either side of her, and broke into a near sprint. She felt her wand shifting around in the pocket of her cloak and she swore under her breath. If her wand fell from her cloak, there would be no going back for it. It was a risk she simply couldn't take these days. She'd buy a new wand in Diagon Alley if it came to that.

Ginny could hear the soft sobs of her son Albus as she continued running down the street. "Just keep going, Albus, you'll be alright once we get there. I promise. Just keep going." Albus's sniffles continued as Ginny nearly toppled over a crack in the road. A sprained ankle, nothing more, she judged. She'd heal it later.

She passed several street signs, but none of them had the right name. Then, finally, Ginny let out a sigh of pure relief as she tugged her boys along with her onto none other than Privet Drive.

All three Potters came to a halt at the driveway of number 4 Privet Drive. Ginny led the boys to the doorstep, rang the Dursley's doorbell, and waited. She shoved her hand into the pocket of her cloak, gripped her wand, and put an arm around her boys as they all attempted to catch their breath.

"Mum," James said, tears trailing down his cheeks, "I saw something back there, something huge. Almost like a wolf. And it—"

"It's fine, James, it was only a hallucination. I promise." A lie.

"But you started running, Mum, and—"

"I know, James, I know." Ginny rang the doorbell twice more, becoming impatient. They had to be home. There was a muggle automobile in the driveway. Ginny wasn't positive, but she was almost sure that the car wouldn't be there unless the muggles were there as well. "You just startled me, is all," she told her son. Another lie.

Finally, the door was pulled wide open, and a short, stout man with a red, cherry-like complexion stood face to face with her. He took in a long breath, as if attempting to clam himself. He closed his eyes, opened them, and then proceeded to growl in one breath, "Do you know what bloody time it is? This is a house of _peace_ and _quiet_ and I would most certainly like to keep it that way, do you understand me?"

Ginny pushed past the man and into his home, herding her boys in before her. She shut the door carefully behind her. "Thank you, Vernon, for inviting us in," she smiled.

The man's mouth hung open. Ginny wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she'd barged into his house without his permission, or if it was because she somehow knew his name.

"Excuse my ill manners," she apologized, "please let me introduce myself. I'm Gi—"

"What the _bloody hell_ is going on down here?" Petunia Dursley stormed down the stairs in a robe and curlers. "It is the _middle of the night_, and I would personally like to know what you would consider so important as to be _ringing. My. Doorbell._"

"Petunia, please," Ginny took a step forward.

Petunia sucked in a breath. "If you take one more step forward, I will call the police on you, you filthy little vermin!"

"Please," Ginny said wearily. She pulled the hood off of her head. "My name is Ginny Potter, and I am in dire need of your help."


	2. Visitors

Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter

"_Potter,_" Vernon spat. "Oh, we will not be allowing any of _your_ kind into this house." The man began to open the door and corral the three Potters from his home, but Ginny was faster than he was.

"No!" Ginny half-screamed. She reached in front of Vernon and slammed the door shut. Anything could be out there at this point, waiting only for an open door to slaughter them. "Do _not_ open that door, Vernon Dursley, or I swear I will cut off your—"

"Mum!" James started. Everyone snapped their haeads around to face James.

Petunia still stood on the stairs, and Vernon's feet were planted firmly on the ground front of Ginny, who had her wand out and was poised to cut off whatever limb of Vernon Dursley she'd planned on chopping. James stood to the side of his mother courageously, and Albus stood quietly in the background, the only one who hadn't said a word.

"Please, Uncle Vernon—can I call you that? Uncle Vernon?" James didn't bother to wait for an answer before he continued. "Your nephew Harry is my father, if you weren't aware. My mother has brought my brother and I here to ask for your hospitality."

"Hospitality," Vernon nearly laughed. "The Dursleys do not give _hospitality_ to…to…people like _you_."

"Vernon," Petunia spoke up, "let the boy carry on."

Vernon gave Petunia a bewildered look, but, nonetheless, continued to allow James to speak. "If you would let my mum explain, I'm sure we could come to a negotiation," he concluded.

Ginny was speechless after this, even with the glares from Petunia and Vernon. She wasn't normally one to tolerate rudeness. "I…" she began. There was a long pause before Ginny sighed and said, "Please. I have nowhere else to take them. My brothers' homes are no longer safe, nor my parent's. Harry set out for a mission six months ago, and it's my turn to help him by playing a part in it." The Dursleys still looked as if they needed more convincing. "I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry. Harry and I should be back soon, but we can't risk our children's lives while we're gone. _Please._"

And then everything was silent.

The doorbell rang, making each of them jump and even producing a small yelp from Petunia. Ginny was the first to take a step toward the door. "Wands out, boys," she said, and then began to pull open the door cautiously.

"Mummy!" a small girl yelled from the doorstep. Ginny gasped and threw the door wide open.

There stood a young girl with bright red hair and stunning blue eyes. Lily. Next to her was a man with an unruly mop of black hair, a broken broomstick, and blood splattering his arm and face. "Ginny," he whispered, and fell face-first onto the Dursleys hallway floor.

Petunia screamed, Vernon backed up against the wall so as to avoid getting toppled over by the falling body, and James and Albus rushed forward.

"Stop!" Screeched Ginny, her wand still out and ready, "It looks like Harry, I know, but it may be a polyjuice potion. We have no way of telling unless questions get answered. Lily, step inside," she told her daughter. Lily closed the door behind her as she stepped over her father.

"Listen carefully, Lily," said Ginny, her wand pointed at her daughter, "I need you to think about this and answer with certainty. Do you understand?" The nine year old nodded her head slowly. "Do you remember that day last month that we went to the muggle zoo?" Lily nodded. "What was it that Daddy told you when we went to see the snake?"

Lily took a deep breath. "He told me, 'be careful around snakes, Lily. You never know which ones are the mean ones at first.' He told me the same goes for humans too."

Ginny let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thank you sweetheart," she said. Ginny pulled her daughter into a quick embrace and plopped a kiss on the top of her head.

Ginny then proceeded to motion her daughter out of the way and knelt on the ground next what she could assume was Harry. He laid flat on his stomach, arms at his side. His wand was in his left hand, his broom in his right. Ginny flipped him onto his stomach, pushed the hair back from his forehead, and checked for a scar.

Yes.

It was there.

But that didn't mean that Harry wasn't an imposter. It would be difficult to tell due to his unfortunate lack of consciousness, but Ginny had her ways.

"Mum, he has a wound in his leg too," Albus spoke for the first time, his voice small and wavering.

Ginny swore. "I don't have time to try to heal him myself or to even find out if it's really him," she said warily. "All of you stay here," she said to her children. And then she disapparated, taking Harry along with her.


	3. Essence of Dittany

I have been soooo completely unmotivated to write lately, BUT reading the new chapters of "A Strange Piece of Temperamental Magic" by thatgirlinredandgold got me motivated to write more :) so here's chapter 3…and guys, it doesn't take long to review so please do it! And constructive criticism is more than welcome :)

JKR owns HP

Hermione's POV

"Would you like something to drink, dear?" Mrs. Granger asked her daughter. "You must be absolutely parched after the trip here."

Hermione Weasley sat in a quaint wooden chair at her parents' kitchen table along with her husband, Ron, her mother, and her two children, Rose and Hugo.

"No, Mum, I'm fine. I'm sure Rose and Hugo could do with something, though." Hermione's words were slurred from exhaustion. Mrs. Granger leapt up from her seat at the head of the table and scurried to the refrigerator to fill up two glasses of water for her grandchildren.

"Hermione, dear," Ron said timidly, "we can't stay forever, you do know that?" They'd been there for an hour already, even though Hermione had promised Ron they were only dropping off the kids and leaving right away.

"I know, I know," said Hermione, pressing a hand to her aching head. "I'm trying to find a way not to insult Mum. If we had an excuse to—"

Just then, two bodies apparated right on top of the kitchen table, squashing the cinnamon-scented candle in the center of it. Mrs. Granger screamed. Ron and Hermione whipped their wands out and backed up from the visitors as quickly as they could. Rose and Hugo hunkered beneath the table until Hermione screeched at them to get back.

"_Stupefy_!" Hermione cried. A woman with a mane of red hair flew back against the kitchen counter.

"Stop! Stop!" The woman whimpered. She was sprawled on the floor of the kitchen, grasping her side.

Both Ron and Hermione's eyes widened with recognition, and they rushed to Ginny Potter. "She's splinched," Hermione yelped.

"Harry," Ginny gurgled, "Get Harry first."

Ron stayed at Ginny's side as Hermione rushed to Harry and began reciting spells. Hermione cursed. "Ron, get my bag. Now."

Ron looked almost to tears. "But Ginny—"

"Now, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione then turned her attention back to Harry. "Merlin, Harry, what on _earth_ were you doing to get yourself into this mess?" She knew she was silly for asking the question—Harry was unconscious, after all—but she couldn't help herself from talking to him even though he was unresponsive. Hermione swallowed deep, then began reciting "_vulnera sanentur_" three times over. It was a spell Harry had taught her, the very same spell he'd seen Snape use to heal _sectumsempra_ in their sixth year at Hogwarts.

The multiple wounds on Harry's body, including the deep one on his leg—his bone had been visible—had begun to heal. Blood loss began to subside, followed by the reweaving of skin and muscle.

"Mum," Hermione heard a tiny voice squeak. She'd completely forgotten about Rose, Hugo, and her own mother after Ron had run up the stairs for Hermione's bag. What was taking him so long? "Mum, Uncle Harry…" Rose was in tears, holding on to the hand of her grandmother, who was attempting to herd her two grandchildren into the hallway, away from the blood and madness.

"He's fine, Rose, he'll heal." Hermione left her mother to look after the children and made her way quickly over to a twitching Ginny. "Hold still," Hermione said. "Ron should be here soon with the Dittany. I don't know what's taking him so long. RON!"

Hermione heard the pounding of footsteps down the stairs of her childhood home. She could even hear Ron's breathing, heavy and strained. "_Accio!" _she heard him shout, and then, "Hermione!" He half-gasped her name. "They found us!"

Mrs. Granger screamed once more, and returned to the kitchen with both Rose and Hugo. "Horrid things, horrid, horrid things!" she shrieked.

With no time to waste, Hermione snatched up her two children and began shoving them through the back door. She turned around just in time to see her bag hurtling through the air toward her. "Thank Merlin," she whispered. Hermione then switched her strategy and shuffled her mother, Rose, and Hugo toward the fireplace. She dug in her bag as quickly as possible for floopowder, finding it in less than five seconds. She could hear the shouts of spells being cast from Ron and from voices she didn't recognize. They were no doubt outnumbered.

Hermione had gathered her three family members inside the fireplace when Ron burst into the kitchen, followed by men in black cloaks and masks.

"Go!" He shouted to her. Hermione glanced from Ron to her family in the fireplace, then to a now-still Ginny and a slowly stirring Harry. She couldn't save them all, she simply couldn't. "Go!" Ron yelled once more, still fighting off the masked men.

Hermione stepped backward into the fireplace, took hold of the three members of her family, threw down her floopowder, and shouted, "Shell Cottage!"

Within seconds, the four had come tumbling out of Bill and Fleur's fireplace, covered in soot.

A startled Fleur jumped up from the sofa facing the fireplace. She put a hand to her heart. "Hermione! Oh, you scared me! What's happened? Why are you here?"

"Death Eaters," said Hermione. "They're back, and they tracked us. And Ron—" Hermione choked. "Ron and Harry. And Ginny." Hermione's mouth moved a mile a minute.

"Slow down," said Fleur, placing her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Where are the three others?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "They're with death eaters. I didn't know what to do. Harry and Ginny apparated on the table, and Harry was hurt and Ginny got splinched." Tears began running down Hermione's face. "So I sent Ron upstairs for my bag, but when he came down, there were death eaters trailing them. We used the floo network. I just…left them there." The poor witch was now uncontrollably sobbing, which caused much whimpering from Rose and Hugo. Mrs. Granger stroked her daughter's hair as though she understood the seriousness of what had just occurred.

Fleur cursed. "Let me go get Bill and the kids. Make yourselves at home in the meantime," and she rushed out of the room without another word.

Hermione then proceeded to plop herself down on the couch. "Mum," Rose whined, sitting next to Hermione. "I got a scratch when we fell out of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's fireplace. Can I please, _please_ have some dittany? It stings."

"Dittany," said Hermione distantly. "Sweetheart, your father took the dittany for Aunt Ginny. He doesn't know many healing spells, Rosie, it was one of his only options. You'll be fine, though. It's just a scratch, it'll heal in no time."

"But it _hurts_, Mum!" Rose moaned.

Hermione decided that she didn't have time for her daughter's antics over a small scratch. She tipped over her bag, and out poured everything she'd been able to stuff in it with an extension charm onto the floor in front of her. "I should have something in here, Rosie, just be patient." As Hermione sifted through the contents of her bag, a strangely-shaped bottle caught her eye. Hermione picked up the bottle and twisted it over to read the label. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

_Essence of Dittany_, read the label.

SO there's chapter 3 for yah. Sorry my chapters are so short, I'll try to start making them longer :/ Please review! It keeps me motivated and it makes my day! Right now, my motivation comes solely from my love of HP and from my marvelous friend Meghan (who, unfortunately, does not have a fanfiction account), and of course that lovely inspiration boost that thatgirlinredingold's story gave me….


	4. Apparition

Hey guys ^-^ So for the past week or so I have been COMPLETELY obsessing over A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel (does anybody know if there will be a threequel?) …and if you haven't watched those, then go do it right now because you are MISSING OUT! So I know that I've been skipping around with POVs a lot, but from now on, it should pretty solidly be either Harry's POV or Victoire's POV. Promise. Thanks to Yankeefan26, PsychoBrunette, and Princess of Flames for their reviews!

Victoire's POV

"Oh, it's absolutely _terrifying_," Victoire Weasley explained to her younger brother Louis as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Horrifying," exaggerated Dominique, Vic's 5th year sister. "They tell you that you only need a permission slip for Hogsmeade, but it's much, much worse."

Louis, the poor 13-year-old, looked up wide-eyed at his sisters from his cross-legged position on the ground. "Is it really that bad?" he asked.

Victoire nodded. "Absolutely. Hagrid takes you in to the Forbidden Forest. Not all centaurs are as welcoming as Firenze, I'll warn you. I had a nasty run-in with one during my own third year."

"You're getting off the topic, Vic," Dominique nudged her sister, barely holding in her giggles. It was too fun to mess with Louis, the gullible little guy.

Suddenly, large crashing noises sounded from downstairs. Dominique's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you suppose Mum's doing down there?"

Victoire stood up from her bed, the mattress springs creaking beneath her. "I don't know, but it doesn't exactly sound like she's making tea."

A pounding of feet was heard, and Victoire peeked out of her doorway to see her flustered mother running up the stairs. Fleur Weasley looked at her daughter with a begging look on her face. "Where is your father?"

Victoire's mouth made an 'O' shape. She'd never seen her mother so distraught before. Victoire thrust her arm toward the closed door at the end of the hallway.

Fleur scrambled her way to the door and began knocking on it furiously. "Bill!" She called to her husband. At this point, all three of the Weasley-Delacour children were poking their English and French heads out of Victoire's bedroom door.

Bill thrust open his office door. Fleur wasted no time with explanations. She simply barked, "Downstairs," and ran back down the staircase. Bill's puzzled expression suggested that he had no clue what was going on any more than his children did. Still, he followed his wife down the stairs.

Victoire turned to her brother and sister, put a finger to her lips, and crept slowly into the hallway, Dominique and Louis both following her lead. Vic took five steps down the stairs, making sure to skip the second one to the top, as the creaking noise it made sounded like something close to a dying cat. She squatted low by the wall and listened.

"Where's Ron?" Victoire heard her father say. Uncle Ron? That must've been who Bill was talking about. But why should Uncle Ron be in their house?

"I had to leave him back with Harry and Ginny," the broken voice of Vic's Aunt Hermione flowed into her ears.

Bill sighed heavily. He cursed softly, causing Dominique to giggle behind Victoire. Vic turned and slapped a hand over Dominique's mouth.

"We have to get them," Bill said.

"But Bill," Fleur said, "You heard Hermione, the place was swamped with Death Eaters." Death Eaters? Those were the followers of You-Know-Who, weren't they? Victoire must've heard wrong. You-Know-Who had been gone for 19 years. Anyone who'd followed him and lived had been sent to Azkaban, with the exception of the Malfoys, who'd narrowly escaped their sentence due to the fact that they'd left You-Know-Who during his final battle.

"What do you expect me to do, Fleur? He's my little brother, and I can't just leave him there alone." Bill's voice was viciously calm.

"Didn't you hear Hermione?" Fleur argued. "Harry and Ginny are there with him."

"Oh, yes," Bill scoffed, "and I'm sure Ron will receive plenty of help from a splinched witch and an unconscious wizard. My brother and baby sister could be _dead_ and I'm not supposed to go help them?"

"Well, if they're dead, they won't need much of helping, will they?"

Silence.

For an entire minute, no one said a word. The only thing Vic could hear was her own shallow breathing.

Bill broke the silence. "Hermione, you have the Dittany?" Victoire couldn't hear a reply, but she assumed that Hermione had given some sort of signal that she did in fact have what Bill was asking for, as Bill continued by saying, "Then we need to disapparate now. You'll have to come with me, Hermione. I've never been to your mother's house. Do you have enough strength?"

"I'm fine, Bill," Aunt Hermione said shakily. "Just shocked is all."

At that point, Victoire made the most impulsive decision she could have. She stood straight up and thumped her way down the stairs. What she saw was a room full with her mother and father, both standing in the middle of the room, and her Aunt Hermione and cousins Hugo and Rose, all covered in soot and sitting on the sofa. A strange woman sat next to Hermione. They had the same sort of build, so Victoire could only assume that the woman was Aunt Hermione's mother.

Hermione held a small bottle in her hand and Bill looked as if he was mid-stride, ready to walk to Hermione for a side-along apparition. The room was frozen as if it was a painting.

Victoire gulped. "I want to come with you," she said.

"Absolutely not," Bill shook his head. "You're not old enough to be put in this kind of situation."

"I'm seventeen!" Victoire complained. "I'm of age. I passed my apparition test and everything. I can use magic. I can _help_."

"The only way you can help is by staying here," Bill's voice rose. "You are _not_ going in to battle at seventeen years of age, young lady."

"Why not?" Vic wailed.

Her father gave no answer.

"Mum," Vic pleaded, "can't you convince him?"

"Sweetheart, I have to agree with your father. At seventeen you should not be going in to battle."

"Uncle Harry went to battle when he was seventeen, and so did Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione," Victoire countered.

"That's different," Bill fumed.

"It's not different at all!" Vic squawked.

"Vic," Aunt Hermione spoke up, "I'm telling you from experience that war at seventeen years of age isn't fun. War at any age isn't fun."

Vic leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

Bill strode over to Hermione with three steps, and they joined hands. Vic straightened up. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, sighed, and just as the two began to disapparate, Vic sprinted across the room, over a chair, and grabbed hold of her father. She heard a faint pop, and was then twisting through space. She landed on her back on luscious, green grass, breathing hard. She felt in her pocket for her wand. It was there.

A shadow stepped into Victoire's vision and she sat up, putting a hand over her head to block out the blaring sun. She took in her surroundings and realized that she was sitting on the damp grass of a backyard. Bill loomed over the petit blonde girl, his face furious. His voice shook with anger. "When we get back home, young lady—"

"Bill," Hermione broke in, sticking a finger to her right. Bill and Victoire turned to see where Hermione was pointing. Vic rested her eyes on a frail old woman who'd been watering her flowers. She'd obviously seen them apparate, as her mouth hung open and she was completely unaware that she'd been letting her watering can spill water onto her feet.

Bill stood, took out his wand, and whispered, "_Obliviate_." He began walking toward the house. "Vic," he said, "I want you to stay out here."

But of course, Vic refused to be left behind. She followed Bill and Aunt Hermione to the back door of the home.

Hermione put a hand on the doorknob and twisted, but it was locked. She let out an annoyed sigh. "_Alohomora_," she recited.

The trio crept inside the house, and, to Vic's surprise, she didn't hear any more complaints from her father. They all peeked their heads around a cramped hallway, each with their wands out. A sound of cabinets opening and shutting filled Vic's ears.

She squinted her eyes to see a man in a long black cloak and a white mask raiding the kitchen cabinets, facing away from them. Bill stepped forward first, but tripped loudly over something on the floor, landing with an "Eugh!" and a thump.

The man in the kitchen spun around and shot a spell at Vic and Hermione, who both ducked in time for the hex to hit the wall behind them, leaving a smoldering hole straight through it.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Victoire shouted. The man didn't have time to block the spell and fell rigidly to the ground, succumbing to the full body-bind.

"Thanks," Aunt Hermione muttered, and the two helped Bill up.

The trio walked carefully across the kitchen, ready for a run-in with another masked man.

"What do we do with him?" Vic asked, nudging her head toward the cloaked man.

"Nothing," Bill said. "He's taken care of for now."

Bill, Hermione, and Victoire turned into the main hallway of the home. Vic gasped. Before her were at least five dead and bloodied men, all wearing the same black cloaks.

"Ron must've gotten away then," Bill concluded. "But what about Harry and Ginny?"

"They can't have gone far," Aunt Hermione decided. "They were too injured." She still clasped the bottle of Dittany in her fingers.

Bill shoved his way through the hallway, stepping on top of the unavoidable bodies. Hermione and Vic followed his lead. Each time Vic stepped on a limb, there was an audible crack that made her sick to her stomach. The trio finally reached the stairs, treading their way slowly and quietly up them. When they reached the top, Bill took a right and strode to an open door at the end of the hallway.

"_Stupefy!"_ Victoire heard a voice shout, and Bill went down.

Hermione sprinted forward, "Ron!" she sobbed, "Oh, thank Merlin." And she dashed into the room.

Victoire inched forward and stood over her father's still body. _He's only Stunned, _Vic told herself. She peeked into the room and saw Aunt Hermione standing against a wall with Uncle Ron's wand at her throat. A red-haired figure laid unconscious on the bed at the far end of the room. Victoire's eyes drifted to the figure standing with his wand out at the end of the bed. The glasses and messy black hair were a dead give-away. "Uncle Harry," Vic started forward.

"Don't move," Harry pointed his wand at her chest.

"What's going on?" Vic asked. She stood still, but turned her head toward Ron and Hermione.

"Our seventh year at Hogwarts," Ron said forcefully, his wand still at his wife's throat. "How did we get into the Chamber without Harry?"

Hermione grinned. "You used Parseltongue and told me that Harry talks in his sleep."

Ron stuffed his wand back into his pocket and embraced his wife.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Victoire practically screamed. Harry's wand was still directed toward her.

Hermione and Ron broke apart. "It's her," Hermione said convincingly. "She apparated here with me from Shell Cottage."

Both Ron and Harry's shoulders relaxed and Uncle Harry lowered his wand.

"Will somebody tell me what's going on?" Vic screeched.

"Don't lose your temper, Vic," Uncle Harry consoled her. "We had to make sure you weren't imposters." He then turned to Aunt Hermione. "We tried using the muggle first-aid kit on her," he said, referring to Aunt Ginny, who Vic had concluded was the unconscious figure on the bed. "Ron's completely drained. He used too many powerful spells. I'm too weak to heal her with magic right now."

For the first time, Vic noticed her Uncle Harry's wobbling knees. What had happened to him?

"I have Dittany," Hermione went to Ginny's bedside, and Victoire turned away as the healing process began. She noticed her father stirring on the floor in the hallway and went to him.

"Dad," she said, "They're all fine and they're healing Ginny." Bill nodded and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Vic out in the hallway. She tried the doorknob, but Bill had already locked the door. "_Alohomora_," she tried. No such luck. The door stayed locked and Vic plopped down on the hallway floor, eavesdropping as best as she could.

"…into a whole lot of Death Eaters," Uncle Harry was saying. "Lily was absolutely terrified, and before I could stop her, she began running. Which, obviously, only made matters worse for me. It's impossible to keep an eye on your daughter and fight off Death Eaters at the same time."

There was that name again. Death Eater. Uncle Harry had used it twice. How could Death Eaters possibly be back? Did that mean that You-Know-Who was back too?

Harry began talking in a hushed voice. "I thought I was done for. They were standing over me, about to finish me off, when something jumped at them from out of nowhere. I scrambled backward on my hands and knees and hid myself in the bushes. I found Lily there. She had my snapped broom and she was crying like I've never seen before.

"I looked for what had gotten the Death Eaters, and all I saw was a big black dog retreating into the woods on the other side of the street."

"Oh, Harry," Aunt Hermione whispered. "You don't think…It isn't possible."

Vic pressed her ear to the door.

"He's been dead for twenty-one years, mate," Ron said. "It was probably just a rabid dog."

"But I saw—" Harry tried to argue.

"I know, mate, I know," Ron said. "But if he were alive, he would have come to see you by now."

There was a series of whispers that were too quiet for Vic to understand. She pressed her ear as hard as she could to the door. She shifted to her knees, but banged her elbow against the doorframe while doing so.

All conversation inside the room stopped. The last word she heard before Bill muttered the _muffliato_ charm was one she knew she'd heard before, but couldn't quite recognize. "Horcrux."

**PHEW. The longest chapter of the story yet. Review, please! Reviews = motivation. Motivation = MORE CHAPTERS. More chapters = hopefully satisfied readers?**


	5. Shivers

**HELLO! To everyone. Don't have much to say this time around except review! And thank you for favoriting and following :)**

Vic's POV

It had been two weeks since Victoire Weasley had fought off a Death Eater. Two weeks since she'd seen her Aunt Ginny unconscious. Two weeks since her Uncle Ron had put a wand to her Aunt Hermione's throat. Two weeks since she'd been grounded for life.

Okay, so maybe she was only grounded until school started, but it had seemed like a lifetime. So much had happened in the short 14 days. Once they'd returned to Shell Cottage, Harry and Ginny had stayed for a couple of days to heal up. Ron and Hermione had left Rose and Hugo in the care of Bill and Fleur, but only temporarily.

Rose would be off to Hogwarts in two weeks, and Hugo would be off to stay with the Dursleys.

"Harry's right," Hermione had argued when the others had protested, "Privet Drive is the place You-Know-Who would least expect anyone of us to be hidden at."

"But Hermione," Ron had been shocked that his wife would agree with such a thing. "The Dursleys are awful! You know what they've done to Harry."

Victoire didn't know who the Dursleys were or what their relation to Harry was, but with the way that everyone spat their name, Victoire could assume that they weren't very pleasant people.

Eventually, the adults had come to the decision that Privet Drive was the safest place for Hugo to be. After all, he would be better off alive and unhappy for a few months than dead forever. And owl had been sent to Teddy Lupin explaining the situation, and Teddy replied, agreeing that he would escort Hugo to Privet Drive and take James and Albus from there to Diagon Alley.

Shortly after the decision had been made, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had departed. Victoire had reluctantly stayed behind, grounded in her room.

Victoire glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall. 1:26 in the morning. She sighed, rolled over in her bed, and closed her eyes. Sleep had been a privilege for the past few days. All she could think about at night was the conversation between her family at Mrs. Granger's home.

A scratching on Vic's window gave her a jolt, and she stood up and walked to the window. "Cynric," she sighed as she slid open the glass. The cool night air brought a cold draft of wind into her room and made her shiver through the thin fabric of her tank top and pajama shorts. It was strangely cool for mid-august. "What're you doing here so late at night?" she wondered. Cynric was Teddy's owl. Vic couldn't imagine what was so important to tell her at this time of night. Not that it mattered; she was wide-awake anyhow.

Victoire took the letter from Cynric's beak and let him in the room. She shut the window behind her and began stroking the gray bird's feathers as she opened the letter.

Oudside in five minutes.

T.

That was all the letter said. Vic smiled and laughed to herself. She re-opened the window, released Cynric, and tiptoed to the door of her room. She twisted the knob as quietly as she could and stepped out into the hallway. Vic took the stairs carefully, one at a time, skipping the second to the top as always. She wove her way through the sitting room and into the back hallway of the cottage. She unlocked the deadbolt on the back door, twisted the knob, and—nothing. Victoire tugged harder. It wouldn't open. Her parents had probably charmed it, knowing she'd try to escape.

Vic rolled her eyes, crept through the house to the dining room window, and opened it completely. She stuck one leg out, straddling the window, then hoisted her other leg over and touched both feet safely to the front porch.

Victoire left the window open just a crack, making sure she could open it to get back in.

Excitement boiled in her veins as she ran swiftly through the moist grass to the back of the house, where she found a tall figure leaning against the house. The moonlight shone perfectly on his hair, making his usual turquoise color seem like a trick of the light.

Victoire grinned to her ears. "Teddy," she breathed, and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight.

"I've missed you," Teddy Lupin whispered into her ear.

She leaned up and kissed him softly, tugging him closer to her with each second that passed.

Teddy ran his fingers through her hair, and Vic, for once, didn't care that it would be full of tangles later.

Vic reached her arms up and wrapped them around Teddy's neck.

The night breeze made Vic shiver once more, and Teddy pulled away from her. "You're cold?" he asked. "I'd give you my jacket if I'd worn it here."

The couple sat facing each other on the damp ground. "Why didn't you come sooner?" Vic asked, grabbing Teddy's hand with both of hers.

Teddy raised one of his eyebrows as if to say, "You really don't know?"

Victoire sighed. "I know, I know. The internship with Uncle Harry, everything with your grandmother…"

"Don't forget the fact that your parents practically despise me," Teddy added.

Vic sniggered. "They don't despise you, Teddy. They just don't approve of me dating, that's all."

"That implies that they don't approve of me," Teddy pointed out.

Vic shook her head. "I don't want to talk about my parents," she said. "I want to talk about what you've been up to."

Teddy crossed his legs pretzel-style. "Well, Harry's been off doing whatever he's been doing, and I haven't seen him for a month now. It's awful having to go into the Ministry each day to cover for him, Vic. I don't know how much longer I can do it. You know that I went with him for the first few months he was gone, right?"

Vic nodded.

"The strangest thing was, we didn't even do anything at all while I was with him. I'd wake up each morning in a tent in the woods and he'd tell me where we were headed to for the day. He didn't tell me why, of course, but once we got there, he'd say, 'Keep an eye out for anything moving. Keep your wand out. Look for small objects.' It was the same speech every day, over and over."

"And he never told you what you were looking for?" Vic asked.

Teddy shook his head. "Three months ago, I left him. He told me to keep his things organized at the ministry." Teddy almost laughed. "As if I'm the type he should be entrusting his office to. I'm only nineteen. I don't see how he thinks I can be so intelligent."

Vic smiled. "He knew your father, that's why."

Teddy grimaced. He didn't like it when people brought up his parents. "For two months, he kept in touch with me, apparating into his office at random times, asking how things were going. For the past month I've heard nothing of him."

Vic paused, then decided to tell Teddy everything that had happened. She explained how Aunt Hermione had shown up, how Vic had disobeyed her parents and followed her father to Mrs. Granger's house. She explained all of the dead men in black cloaks.

"Black cloaks?" Teddy sat up straight.

"Yeah," said Vic, "and white masks."

"Victoire," he said. He never used her full name. "Those were Death Eaters."

Vic's stomach jumped to her throat. So it was true. "Is You-Know-Who back, then?" Just as she said the words, another cold breeze passed through her hair. She shuddered, not knowing whether it was from the cold or the subject they were speaking of."

"I don't know," Teddy said honestly, "but we had a couple of bouts with the Death Eaters when I was with Harry."

Victoire gulped and let out a breath. "I don't like the sound of it all, Teddy. Uncle Harry being gone for months, Death Eaters popping up out of nowhere. Something's not right." Victoire shivered again. "Why is it so damn cold on a mid-August night?" She moved to sit on Teddy's lap, and he wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to keep her warm.

Victoire was trembling. "Are you sure you don't want to go back inside?" Teddy inquired.

"No," Vic said. "I want to stay here with you for as long as I can. I want to…I want…I…" Vic never finished her sentence. She was too busy thinking about the Death Eaters. "It's hopeless," she said solemnly. "Why do we bother fighting anyway?"

"Don't talk like that, Vic," Teddy rocked her in his arms.

"What's worth fighting for?" Vic whispered. Her fingers were shaking. Why was the cold getting to her so much?

"Maybe you're right," Teddy said suddenly. He'd begun shivering as well. "What's good in this life?"

They both seemed in a sort of trance as three black hooded figured floated toward them from all directions. They were sort of spectral, but still had some sort of physicality to them.

"Teddy," Vic's voice was barely audible. "Are those—" Vic didn't have time to finish her sentence before the figure pulled back it's hood, opened it's mouth, and began to suck out the very essence of Victoire.

With all of her might, she reached inside her pocket, drew out her wand, and slurred, "_Expecto Pa…Expect…Ex…"_

The last thing she saw before blacking out was a blue wolf dancing around the yard.

**Well, there you have it. Hope you liked it and there will be more to come soon!**


	6. Snogging

**Hey y'all….thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! Sorry I haven't updated for a week and a half…marching band at my school started Monday, so 8 hours a day I've been there. Yay… The rest of the time I've been eating or sleeping…for those of you in marching band, you know exactly what I'm talking about. :) ANYWAY, that is my explaination for being lazy and not writing anything. But TECHNICALLY I wasn't being lazy…**

Victoire's POV

Vic sat in her room the next day, munching on a chocolate bar. Her parents had found both she and Teddy sprawled on the ground in the middle of the yard with Teddy's patronus returning safely to his wand. They'd hurried the two inside the house, checking for wounds of any kind (they'd found none), and had laid Teddy on the downstairs couch and Vic on her bed upstairs.

Vic had woken up to her mother's smiling face thirty minutes later. Fleur had handed Victoire her wand and a bar of chocolate, explaining its healing properties.

It was ten in the morning now, and Vic had been awake since she'd seen her mother smiling down on her. She finished off yet another chocolate bar, unwrapped the next one, and began shredding away at it, soaking in the delicious sweet taste. She knew she didn't need more healing, but you could never be too safe. And there was the added bonus that chocolate was delectable, mouth-watering, and gorgeously tasteful. Who would pass it up?

There was a knocking sound on her bedroom door, and Vic looked over to see Dominique standing in the doorway, snickering. "You're going to get fat if you keep eating like that." Dominique stepped further into her sister's room, walking to Vic's bedside. She reached down, pinched Vic's cheeks, and said, "Chubby little Victoire Weasley," in the best baby voice she could muster.

"Mum wanted me to tell you that we're taking Rose to Diagon Alley today. We're getting school supplies while we're there. Uncle Harry left us a list of things to buy for Albus and James while we're there, too."

Victoire nodded, swallowing yet another chunk of chocolate. "I'll be down in ten minutes," she said.

Dominique left the room, closing the door behind her.

Vic jumped up from her bed, threw open each of her dresser drawers, and spent ten minutes choosing something to wear. She didn't know who she'd see in Diagon Alley, but she wasn't going to show up in frumpy clothing, looking like she'd just been attacked by a dementor.

Vic stamped down the stairs, skipping the second stair to the top, and ran straight into Teddy, his elbow slamming into her gut. Vic let out a resounding "Eugh!"

His look of surprise was enough to make Vic laugh for a week, if she hadn't been doubled over in pain.

"Oh! Merlin, Vic, I'm so sorry! I was just coming up to get you, I wasn't paying attention and—"

"I'm fine," grunted Vic, who was clearly _not_ fine. She walked through the room to the fireplace with Teddy, careful not to wince or complain about her injured stomach. She didn't want Teddy feeling bad.

"Everyone else has already left," Teddy told her. "We're supposed to meet them inside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Are you ready?"

Vic nodded and stepped into her family's fireplace. She flooed herself to the fireplace in the back of Uncle George's store. Teddy came seconds behind her.

"Phew," he said, stepping out after her, "nothing like getting soot down your throat to start your day off."

Victoire smiled and nudged Teddy in the elbow. "That's why I tend to keep my mouth closed, Lupin."

The two walked hand in hand around the store, watching smiling kids buying and browsing for their every pranking need. Vic was a prankster herself, but Uncle George had given her a stash of products a long time ago that she kept in a bag inside her Hogwarts trunk that she'd put an extension charm on.

"Buying today, Vic?" Victoire turned to see the tall form of her Uncle George smiling to his ears behind her, one hand brushing his red hair back from his forehead. Vic could see the beads of sweat pooling at his hairline.

Vic grinned and hugged George Weasley as hard as she could. "It's so good to see you," she said.

"It's been ages," he replied as the embrace ended. "So, any pranking needs for your last year at Hogwarts?"

Vic rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me," she said, "I'm not quite ready to leave yet. But no, I'm still using the stash you gave me a long while back."

"Blimey, Vic," George's eyebrows went up to his hairline. "You're still working off of that? No, no, you've got to have more to prank with than the remains of a beginner's kit!"

"Sorry," Vic said, as she sincerely was, "Mum and Dad have my money. I'm grounded already. I suppose they've told you about the dementors?"

Uncle George's smiled faded. "No," he said forcefully. "No, they have not."

An awkward silence ensued, but Vic broke it by saying, "We'd better get going. We've been told to meet Mum and Dad in the store somewhere. Have you seen them yet?"

George nodded. "They were near the front of the store earlier, you may want to check there." He pulled his niece into a hug goodbye and whispered, "Have fun with the rest of your summer." When he pulled away, his eyes flickered to Teddy and back to Vic. He winked at her, turned around, and walked off toward another group of kids with a huge smile lighting his face.

Vic and Teddy made their way to the front of the store to find Bill and Fleur. "Did you see that?" Vic asked in awe.

"See what?" Teddy looked at her, clueless. "Sorry, I was paying more attention to the kids with the Puking Pastilles."

"Uncle George. He looked at you, then back at me. And he _winked_. Like he…like he _knew_…" An unsettling feeling settled in her stomach. Vic and Teddy hadn't told Vic's family about their relationship yet, and hadn't planned on telling them until after Vic's seventh year was over. They'd known the two had had a summer fling the year before, but Vic's parents had put a stop to it—or so they thought—when Bill had caught the two snogging as he'd come home from work early one day. But _this_…they couldn't know, could they?

Teddy shook his head. "If he knew, someone would have told him, right? So unless Dominique or Louis found it in your room, no one knows."

"They couldn't have found it," Vic said. "I checked for it again yesterday. It was there." Victoire had hidden her engagement ring in a tiny flap beneath the purple velvet lining of her Hogwarts trunk. No one would look there.

"Over here, Vic!" a voice called. Victoire's head snapped to her right and she found her family waving to her and Teddy.

"Your father took Rose to go get her robes fitted," Fleur said when Vic was standing in front of her. "He took the measurements that Uncle Harry gave him for Albus' robes as well."

"Are we off to get books, then?" Vic asked her mother.

Fleur nodded.

The family entered Flourish and Blotts, each student attending Hogwarts for the upcoming year searching madly for their books among the shelves. Vic quickly found the books she needed, checked out at the front desk, and exited the store with Teddy. Twenty minutes later, the rest of Vic's family met up with her and Teddy by a bench on the sidewalk by Flourish and Blotts. After this stop, Vic was done shopping for the day. She'd be borrowing the rest of her school supplies from Teddy, who'd graduated from Hogwarts two years ago.

As Fleur shopped for school supplies with the rest of the kids, Vic and Teddy walked up and down Diagon Alley, window shopping and occasionally running into someone that one of them knew. Vic's worry was plain on her face, and the only thing she would talk about with Teddy was her concern that Uncle George knew about their engagement. If her parents found out, they would kill her.

"There's nothing your parents can do about it, Vic," Teddy reassured her. "You're seventeen. You're of age. Plenty of wizards get married when they graduate from Hogwarts. Your parents have nothing to be mad about."

"They don't trust me," Vic said. "That's what they'd be mad about."

"Then you'll just have to gain their trust," Teddy replied.

* * *

Two weeks later, Teddy and Vic stood on platform nine and three quarters in an isolated corner. The train whistled and Vic pulled away from Teddy to say goodbye. Teddy plopped one last lingering kiss on Vic's forehead, and she ran off toward the train.

She knew that the rest of her family was here somewhere. Even Harry and Ginny had come to see their children off. Ron and Hermione must have come too, Vic thought.

"Victoire Weasley!" she heard someone shout as she ran toward the Hogwarts Express. She turned around to see her mum holding out her arms for a hug. Vic rolled her eyes, but ran to her anyway. Fleur pulled her daughter into an embrace and kissed her on the forehead in the exact same spot that Teddy had. Bill hugged Victoire as she let go of her mother.

Vic was one of the last students to enter the train, and most of the compartments were full. She made her way down the isle and finally found Ollie Wood, her best friend, sitting alone inside a compartment.

"Vic!" He shouted jubilantly as Victoire entered the compartment. Ollie stood up. "Merlin, I've missed you." And he pulled her into a strong hug.

"I've missed you too, Ollie, but you don't need to suffocate me," Vic groaned.

"Sorry," Ollie said, and the two sat down on opposite sides of the compartment. "We have loads to catch up on, though, Vic. You've got to hear what I've done this summer."

_Just wait until you hear what _I've_ been up to_, Vic thought.

Just then, James Potter slid open the door to Vic's compartment. Vic immediately slid her feet up onto the seat, making it look like the space was occupied. "Sorry, Jamesie," she said, calling him by the pet name that he hated so much. "No room left."

James narrowed his eyes. "I'm not here to stay, Victoire," he said coolly. "I just wanted to let you know that I saw you snogging Teddy on the platform earlier." James grinned to his ears. "I wonder what your parents will think about that when they find out?" With that, James lifted his chin, slid the door shut, and pranced down the hall back to his own compartment.

Vic turned toward Ollie, taking in his amazed expression. "It looks like we have loads to catch up on," he said.

**SO I know not much happened in the chapter, but I had to set it up for events to come! HOPEFULLY the next chapter will be in Harry's POV…that's what I'm planning as of now. And for those of you who think that Vic's too young to be engaged to Teddy, remember that James and Lily got married when they were 19…. Hope you liked it :) updates will probably be closer to once a week from now on…**


	7. Restricted

**Sooo I haven't posted in about 2 weeks…it's been buuuusssyyyy so sorry! Yesterday I was busy curling up in my sock drawer because I wasn't at Leakycon to see AVPSY… I cannot WAIT until Starkid gets it up on youtube because I am DYING right now. So I decided I'd write another chapter today to cope with HP/Starkid withdrawal (just kidding. Not really.) I was waiting to try to put out a chapter in Harry's POV, but I don't have enough outlining done for his part of the story yet, so for now it's just Victoire :) BUT there will DEFINITELY be more going on in this chapter than the last. Diagon Alley chapters are always boring, but it had to be done :/ ….hopefully this one's better :) I should really stop my rambling…enjoyyyy**

Victoire's POV

That night, Victoire sat in the Gryffindor common room, playing a well-thought-out game of Wizard's Chess. Unfortunately, she was losing to her eleven-year-old cousin Albus, who'd been very much relieved to be sorted into Gryffindor house.

"Bishop to f6," he said with a smirk. Vic cursed under her breath as her knight was thrown from the board, destroyed by Albus' white bishop. "Check mate," Albus gloated.

Vic examined the board as closely as ever, making sure there was no possible move she could make to get out of the trap Albus had set for her. Finally, she sighed in defeat. "You win," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm done."

"Sore loser, Vic?" Rose Weasley strolled over to the two opponents, having overheard the conversation.

"No," Vic raised her chin. "My mind wasn't completely in the game, is all."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Of course it wasn't."

"It wasn't!" Vic defended. "I've had my mind on other things."

"Oh?" Rose inquired. "Like what?"

Vic hesitated before saying, "I don't think I should talk about it."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Right," she said, obviously not believing a word Vic had said. Rose turned her attention to Albus. "C'mon, Al. It's almost curfew. We should get to our dorms."

And so Vic was left to sit alone on the sofa by the fireplace, her legs curled next to her body, a somber look on her face.

The truth was, she really _had_ been thinking of other things. Important things. Things that eleven-year-olds should not have to worry about. Things that even she shouldn't have to worry about.

"Vic?" a voice said from across the room. Vic turned her head around to find Ollie already halfway up the stairs to the boys' dorms. "I'm heading to bed. Are you alright?"

Vic nodded her head and gave Ollie a thumb's up. Ollie bid Vic goodnight, then retreated to the dorms. Vic looked around the eerily empty common room. How long had she been sitting here like this? It had seemed like mere seconds since Rose and Albus had headed to bed, but it had to have been much longer than that for the room to have emptied out.

She'd been thinking too much. How could she not, with Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione gone to who-knows-where? With the Death Eaters at the Granger house? With Teddy's stories of his internship at the Ministry? With Lily and Hugo being left at the Dursley's? With the dementor attack? How could she _not_ be thinking too much? And then there was that word. Horcrux. Where had she heard it before? She knew that all of these things were connected, knew that something big was coming.

Vic didn't even want to get her mind going about her engagement. It was the best thing in her life right now by far, but there was the matter of telling her family, then the wedding planning. Oh, it was all too much to think about at once! She wished she had Teddy here.

"Victoire?" a timid voice came from the direction of the stairs. Vic snapped her head to the source of the sound as James Potter stepped into the dim light of the common room. "Do you know what time it is?"

Vic shook her head, not caring how exhausted and pathetic she must look.

"Vic, it's three o'clock in the morning. You know you have classes tomorrow?"

"So do you, James," Vic's voice came out slow and raspy.

James fiddled with the fabric of his pajamas, something he did when he was nervous. "You've been thinking about it, haven't you?" he asked.

Vic shifted on the sofa. "About what?"

"The dementor attack, right?" James guessed, sitting criss-cross style in front of her on the floor.

"What makes you say that?" Vic proceeded with caution.

James snickered. "You've been curled up on a couch all night, staring into space."

"True," Vic commented.

A long silence ensued, but James broke it by saying, "I've had a lot on my mind, too."

Vic scoffed. "Oh, yes," she said. "I'm sure the perfect James Sirius Potter has had loads to think about."

James' eyebrows furrowed. "I'm trying to get along here, in case you hadn't noticed," he snapped.

Vic and James weren't the best of cousins. She loved him, of course, but they'd never seen eye-to-eye. "Fine, then," Vic placed her feet on the floor and rested her elbows on her knees. "Tell me all about your problems, Jamsie-poo."

The corner of James' mouth twitched. The nickname Vic teased James with had never ceased to bother him.

"I've been thinking about my parents," he admitted.

Vic's expression softened a bit. "James, I'm sure they're fine. You'll see them at Christmas, I promise."

James shook his head, "You don't know that for sure, Vic." The boy's lips began to quiver. "You didn't see…you didn't see my dad when he came to the Dursley's with Lily." Vic remembered Harry's story about his encounter with the Death Eaters. She could only imagine what he'd looked like, fainting on the porch of number 4, Privet Drive. "If that happened to him when he was so close to his family…. Vic, what if my dad doesn't come back for Christmas? What if he doesn't come back _ever_?"

"He'll come back, James," Vic slid onto the floor beside James, giving him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "He has his two best friends from Hogwarts and your mother with him. Not much can go wrong with the four of them. They defeated You-Know-Who together."

James' mouth curled into a tiny smile. "I suppose you're right."

"Is that all you had on your mind?" Vic asked.

James swallowed hard, an expression of pure terror appearing on his face. "When Mum was taking Albus and I to the Dursley's house, I saw something in the bushes," he whispered. His eyes stared into space, as if he was reliving the entire memory inside his mind. "I'm not even positive what it was. But it was scary. It was huge and black and hairy. And its eyes glowed."

"Like an animal?" Vic asked.

James nodded. "Like a wolf, maybe. A big, black wolf."

A big, black animal. Maybe a wolf. Big. Black. Animal.

"…_all I saw was a big black dog…"_

Vic's eyes widened. "James," her voice was so quiet that it was nearly inaudible. "A wolf. Could it have been a dog?"

James became immediately suspicious of Victoire. "Why would it have been a dog?"

"Just answer the question!" she begged him.

"I suppose it could have been a dog. Sure. It was absolutely terrifying. I was—"

"Do you know anything about a Padfoot?" she interrupted.

"What?" James was confused. "No, what's a Padfoot?"

"I don't know! That's why I was asking you, obviously." Vic was onto something. She knew it. There was a long pause before she said, "Do you know any spells that can get us to the library without being seen?"

"Why would we need to go unseen?" James asked, beginning to stand.

"Because we're going to go right now, and we'll be in the _restricted _section."

James' eyes wided and a grin appeared on his face. "I've got just the thing." James ran upstairs as quietly as he could while Vic waited by the fireplace. When he returned, he was carrying a silky fabric in his hands.

Vic gaped at it. "Where did you get that?"

"Family heirloom," James smiled. "Dad says it's traced all the way back to Ignotus Peverell."

Victoire scoffed, doubting the truth of that statement. "So then I guess we're all set for the library?"

James nodded.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Vic and James had leafed through the index of about fifty books for anything that suggested a Padfoot. They'd found nothing. "This is useless!" Vic fumed. "How are we supposed to find anything in this place?"

"Calm down, Vic," James hissed. "Do you want Filch to find us here?"

Vic didn't reply.

"Is there anything else we can search for?" James asked, and suddenly Vic had an idea.

"_Lumos_," she spoke. Her wand lit up, and she began scanning the titles on the spines of books. After ten minutes or so of silence from the duo, Vic had found something. She removed the book from the shelves, dusting off the front cover with her hand. "_Dark Magic: Curses, Jinxes, and Horcruxes_," she read aloud. "The author's name is scratched out."

Vic looked up at James, who stood with the invisibility cloak in one hand and his wand in the other. "What's a horcrux?" he asked.

"I don't know," Vic smiled. "That's why we're here."

Just as she began to open the book, a nagging voice came from the end of the isle. "Students!" Peeves wailed. "Students out of their beds! In the restricted section! Gryffindor students!"

"Peeves," Vic pleaded. "Please, Peeves, please don't tell. Please. We need information."

"Students!" Peeves shouted once more.

"We need to know about horcruxes!" Vic squawked.

That shut him up. Peeves floated over to James and Vic until he was inches from Vic's face. "_What_ did you say you needed?" He whispered.

Vic gulped. "Horcruxes."

"If you're making one of those," Peeves' voice became darker than she'd ever heard it, "there isn't any reason you should be at Hogwarts right now."

"We don't want to make one," Vic said. "We don't even know what it is. That's why we're trying to find out."

Peeves narrowed his eyes and poked a finger right through Vic's chest. She let out a small yelp. "You have a heart in there," he said. "People with hearts don't need to be learning about horcruxes."

With that, Peeves turned and floated away.

"That," James whispered, grasping Vic's hand as hard as he could, "was so scary."

Vic and James would have stood there for eternity, had it not been for the pitter-patter of footsteps behind them. They gave each other a knowing glance and made a run for it, not bothering to put on the cloak. They exited the library and sprinted down the corridors, all the while hearing Filch's footsteps behind them. "Ruddy students!" he yelled. "Out of bed! Past curfew!"

James turned down an unfamiliar corridor and Vic followed without question. He opened the only door that seemed to be unlocked and pulled Vic inside after him. The two caught their breath and waited until Filch's footsteps couldn't be heard to move. Vic let out a sigh of relief and sank to the ground.

Glancing around, Vic saw that the door had lead to another corridor, one that ended in a wall that looked much newer than anything else at Hogwarts.

"James," she asked gently, "Where are we?"

James shook his head slowly. "I don't know. The hallway looks like it's been closed off for awhile."

"It looks new to me," Vic said.

"It looks restored," James corrected. He paused. "Mum and dad would kill me if they knew I were here."

Vic snorted. "You think Harry and Ginny would be mad? Try talking to my parents about it. But you'll be fine. Filch didn't catch us. So no one will know."

In front of the pair, a whispy figure began to appear. James would have screamed, had it not been for the hand Victoire cupped over his mouth. In the next moment, a lanky ghost with a freckled face squatted in front of the two, eyeing them carefully.

"Yes?" Victoire prompted, clutching James' hand.

"You look like someone I used to know," the ghost said cautiously.

"I'm sorry," Vic said, "but I don't think I know you." That wasn't altogether true, though. The longer she looked at the young man, the more she recognized his features. She didn't know anyone who'd died, though. She couldn't have possibly known the ghost.

"You said some names that I'm familiar with," the ghost said timidly. "Harry and Ginny. I knew people with their names."

"Probably coincidence," Victoire said, reaching behind her for the door handle. "They're common names."

"What about their last names?" the ghost pleaded.

James was the one to speak. "Potter," he said confidently.

A tear trickled down the ghost's freckled cheek. Could ghosts cry? Apparently this one could. "I knew Harry Potter," the ghost said. "And I knew a Ginny Weasley."

Vic's fingers trembled. Who was this man? "Weasley was her maiden name."

The ghost smiled as more tears ran down his colorless cheeks. "I'm her brother," he said. "I'm Fred."

**OKAY so the chapter didn't turn out EXACTLY how I wanted it to, but I hope it's still okay. So far I haven't drifted from my outline, so let's hope that I keep on track :D Review please! It keeps me MOTIVATED.**


	8. YouKnowWhat

**Okay, so it's August 13 and I'm starting this chapter…my GOAL is to get it finished today, but it's a Harry chapter (finally…that's hopefully a good thing haha) SO the bad part of that is that I have a harder time with Harry chapters. Mainly because I try to kick out the annoying perfectionist that lives inside me because there's no way I'm going to get Harry "perfect" …this is why I like working with JKR's less-developed characters…like the next gen…it is SO much easier to try to develop your (mostly) own character than to take a well-developed character of someone else's and mimic the behavior and actions of that character in your own writing, you know what I mean? ANYWAY I'm done ranting. In case you haven't figured it out, I tend to ramble a LOT. Enjoy :)**

Harry's POV

Harry landed hard on the dirt ground, gasping to take in as much air as he could. A sharp pain ran through his arm. "Ginny?" he called out, lying flat on his stomach.

"I'm fine," his wife called back.

Harry slowly stood up, ignoring the sting in his left arm, brushing dirt off of him as best as he could. He was in a clearing of a forest. Harry could see Ginny sitting with her back up against a tree, wiping sweat and dirt off of her face, to his left. Standing to his right were his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. They were covered in dirt, but appeared otherwise uninjured.

"Thanks for asking if we were fine, mate," Ron breathed heavily, gesturing to himself and Hermione.

Harry cracked a guilty smile. "Ginny comes first," he said sheepishly.

"That's our new motto, is it?" Ron grinned.

Ginny walked up to the trio, a toothy grin on her face. "If we're going have a motto, it needs to be something catchy. Who's going to remember 'Ginny Comes First' anyway? And it's not true by any means," Ginny defended.

"What about 'constant vigilance'?" Hermione suggested, her smile the biggest of all.

For a moment, the entire group was silent. Harry hadn't thought about Mad-eye for a long, long time. Harry hadn't thought about many people. It had seemed to numb the pain to simply not think of them. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Wow," Ron breathed. "Forgot about that one."

Ginny sighed and, seeing Harry's expression, gave his left shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Agh!" Harry cried out. Pain surged through his arm and Ginny pulled her hand away as though his shoulder were on fire.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione's motherly expression didn't waver.

"Landed on my arm wrong, I think," he said. "No big deal. I should be fine in a day at the most."

"You're sure?" Hermione asked.

"Positive," Harry said.

More silence ensued. Why was this so awkward for them? They were best friends. It should have been easy to talk. Hermione spoke. "We should talk about the.… Well, about the you-know-what."

Ron nodded, as did Ginny. The group sat down in a circle in the middle of the clearing. "We know it isn't in any of the places he's hid the previous seven."

"We don't know that for sure, Ron," Harry said. "Those places were all crawling with Death Eaters. They could have been protecting something. And there's still the possibility that it could be in Hogwarts."

"That's true, it could be in Hogwarts. But it doesn't make much sense that he'd hide them in the places we'd most obviously look. So it isn't very probable that they're in any of the places he's used before, like Ron said," Hermione explained. "We haven't done enough research to know where to look."

"Research?" Harry almost laughed. "What, do you think we're just going to find a biography of Tom Riddle to help us along our way?"

Hermione blushed. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"I'm listening," Harry said.

"Memories," said Hermione. "Dumbledore showed you Tom Riddle's memories, didn't he?"

Harry nodded. "A few of them."

"If we start looking there, it might be a bit easier."

Harry chuckled. "Merlin, Hermione. And to think I've been doing this for six months and haven't found a thing. You've got the brains here, that's for sure. It didn't even cross my mind to look through memories."

Hermione's expression darkened. "Harry, what exactly have you been doing for six months?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I spent some of it in Azkaban, to tell you all the truth. I wasn't in a cell, don't worry," he added when he saw their shocked expressions. "I was talking to prisoners. Trying to get information about him. When that failed, I took Teddy Lupin with me to houses of old victims."

Ginny seemed uncomfortable. "Harry, Teddy Lupin is nineteen years old. He shouldn't be involved in anything about You-Know-Who."

"His whole _existence_ involves Voldemort, Ginny!" Nineteen years later, the Weasley girl still cringed at the name. "Remus and Tonks were _killed_ in the war, in case you'd forgotten. That's how Teddy got where he is today." Harry could tell by the tear streaking down Ginny's face that she hadn't forgotten anything about the war. His face softened and he reached for Ginny's hand, squeezing it lightly. "I'm sorry," he said. "To be honest, though, it isn't my call as to what Teddy chooses to participate in. He's of age."

"I know," Ginny said softly. "I know. Go on."

"I figured that a victim's home would be the perfect place to hide something—who would think to look there?"

"You did, obviously," Ron pointed out.

Harry rolled his eyes. "And obviously I was wrong."

"And that's what you've been doing for _six months_?" Hermione inquired.

Harry nodded matter-of-factly. "That doesn't matter, though. I've made very little headway, so our best bet is to just start from the beginning. Most of the memories Dumbledore showed me were of Tom Riddle's mother and grandfather. The Gaunt family. But the Gaunt ring was already destroyed as a horcrux, so I doubt the object relates to them."

"What about Riddle's father?" Ginny suggested.

Harry shook his head. "Tom despised his father. He lived in an orphanage before he went to Hogwarts. As far as I know, he wasn't too fond of it."

"It's still not a bad place to start," Ron put in.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted suddenly, pointing to the other side of the clearing.

There, in their black cloaks and white masks, stood three Death Eaters.

"_Stupefy_!" Ron shouted.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

"_Reducto!_" Harry wasn't sure who'd used that spell, but he was terrified that it would hit him. Disintigrating didn't sound particularly fun to him. Luckily, the spell hit no one.

Spells sprang from wands on either team, and within minutes, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had defeated their opponents.

"We need to get out of here," Harry said quickly, grasping Ginny's hand.

Ron nodded. "Gri—"

"Don't say it!" Harry interrupted. "If there're any more, they'll hear where we're going."

The four joined hands and, taking a deep breath, disapparated.

**WOOHOO I actually finished this chapter. Not very long :/ and it didn't accomplish much…and it took me like four hours JUST to write three pages. Not even three pages. That's pretty sad. Yeah haha did NOT have fun with this chappie. Hope it's enjoyable still….R&R please! **


	9. Weasley

**It is August 19, guys! (At least when I started it was…) I'm trying to keep a record of when I write stuff so I can remember how often I write. I've been giving you a lot of Victoire chapters, so I want your opinions here…would you rather read Vic's POV or Harry's? For now, though, it's a Vic chapter…enjoy :)**

Victoire's POV

"I-I'm sorry?" Vic wasn't sure she'd heard the ghost—Fred—correctly.

"Ginevra Weasley, yes?" Fred's expression was hopeful.

James nodded.

Fred's smile was bigger than any Vic had ever seen. "I'd hug you if I could!" he exclaimed. "You said Potter was her last name?"

The two children nodded, still huddled on the ground, staring at Fred with wide, confused eyes.

Fred let out a loud _whoop_ and jumped up, doing a sort of jig. "That's the most fantastic news I've heard in nineteen years!" he was nearly shouting.

"Fred," Victoire whispered loudly. "Fred, I'm sorry, but Filch is on our tails. We just escaped from him, so if you could _please_ keep it down…" Victoire used the same tone of voice she'd have used with her parents—confident but cautious, with a hint of over-the-top politeness.

"Of course," Fred said, regaining his composure. "So, then," the ghost continued, sitting down across from James and Victoire, "who are the two of you?"

"I'm Victoire Weasley," Vic said, sticking her hand out instinctively. Fred stared at it, snickering.

"I can't shake that," he said matter-of-factly. He smiled, staring at her happily. "Merlin, you look like your mother," he said.

Victoire was startled by that comment. "You know my mother?"

"Fleur, I presume?" Fred confirmed. Victoire blinked. "That must mean Bill's your father. Are you in your sixth year?"

"Seventh," Vic snapped, slightly offended. She looked younger than her age, something she'd always found unfortunate.

Ignoring her comment, Fred turned to James. "And your name is…?"

"James Sirius Potter," James supplied proudly.

The corner of Fred's mouth twitched, and for a moment his expression turned cold. It was so quick of a change, though, that Vic thought she might have imagined it. "Named after your grandfather and his best friend," Fred grinned approvingly. "Sirius Black. Good man. I can't say I ever knew James."

James nodded, his lips pursed. "Dad's told me what he knows about Grandad," he said quietly.

There was a long pause before Fred said, "So what brings the two of you out of bed after curfew?"

James and Victoire glanced at each other, and James nodded to Vic. She hesitated before saying, "We were in the restricted section at the library. Looking up horcruxes."

Fred's eyebrows furrowed, and he disappeared.

"Fred?" Vic called out, standing quickly. "Fred, please come back."

James finally stood and began to wrap the invisibility cloak around the two of them.

"Wait," Fred reappeared at last.

James and Vic remained standing, and James draped the cloak over his left arm.

"I don't know much," Fred said, staring Vic straight in the eyes, "but there was a bit that I overheard about horcruxes when I was living."

"We're listening," James said.

Fred sighed. "A horcrux is something that a man places a part of his soul into. It's a small object. Like a locket. Or a ring. A diary…" Fred trailed off, escaping into his own thoughts.

Vic let out a tiny cough.

"Sorry," Fred said, his thoughts resurfacing. "A horcrux gives a wizard virtual immortality. Unless the horcrux is destroyed, the wizard can never truly die."

"Why would Uncle Harry have been talking about horcruxes?" she asked herself.

Fred, hearing what she'd said, asked, "Where did you hear Harry talking about horcruxes?"

After explaining the gist of what had happened a few weeks ago, Fred stared at Victoire like she must have been lying. "Death Eaters? They're still…here?" he whispered. Fred shook his head. "I still don't understand where you heard about horcruxes."

"It was the last word I heard Uncle Harry say after they locked me out of the room," Vic explained.

"I don't know why he'd have been talking about them," Fred said weakly. He averted Vic's eyes as well as he could. He was lying.

Vic pursed her lips. "There was one more thing he said," Vic started.

Fred's eyes met hers again.

"Do you know what a Padfoot is?"

For a long time, Fred didn't answer. "I think it's best that you get going," he said at last.

"Please, Fred," Victoire begged.

"Look," the ghost said plainly, "if you want to come back, you can come in five days at midnight."

Five days, Victoire thought hard. That was a Wednesday. "I have Astronomy," she blurted.

Fred cracked a smile. "Make it six days. I'll see you then." And with that, the ghost disappeared.

Vic and James looked at each other, pulled the cloak over the two of them, and made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower, presenting the Fat Lady with the password.

It was nearly dawn, but there was no way that the duo could possibly sleep after what they'd witnessed.

"Vic," James turned toward his cousin. Both of them sat in front of the fireplace, staring into the mesmerizing oranges, yellows, and reds. "Fred said he was my mum's brother."

Vic nodded.

"Then he's my uncle?"

"That makes him my uncle too," Vic said. "I wonder why no one's mentioned him before?"

"Do you want to know who I think he looks like?" James began. "I think he looks like Uncle George."

And that's when it clicked. "Of course!" Vic said brightly. "That's who I was thinking of! I _knew_ he looked _exactly _like someone else, I just couldn't figure it out."

"Vic?" someone said.

Victoire snapped her head around, where she saw Ollie Wood standing at the foot of the stairs, already dressed in his school robes.

"Why are you up so early?" he asked suspiciously.

"I could pose the same question for you," Vic said confidently.

Ollie shifted uncomfortably. "Is everything okay with you, then?" he asked awkwardly. What was going on with Ollie? Vic had never seen him so uncomfortable in her life.

"It's fine," Vic said. "We're just talking about family," she gestured toward James.

"Is everything alright at home, then?" Ollie questioned. Why was he snooping so much?

"Of course," Vic gave him the most earnest smile she could muster.

There was a long pause in which James glanced back and forth between Vic and Ollie. Finally, Ollie said, "Should we head to breakfast, then?"

"Is it really that time?" Vic asked honestly. Ollie nodded as two more Gryffindors, most likely fourth-years, poked their heads out of the stairway and creeped down the old steps. Ollie politely stepped out of the way for them to pass, and the two fourth-years exited the common room.

"Are you ready?" Vic asked James, standing up.

James stood up after his cousin. "Can we wait for Albus and Rose?" he asked hesitantly.

Vic had forgotten about her two first year cousins. She nodded, and she, James, and Ollie Wood stood making small talk until Albus Potter and Rose Weasley emerged from their dorms. Fortunately for Vic and James, they'd had their school robes on the entire night and hadn't needed to change.

"Take a shower when you have a break in your classes," Vic whispered to James on the way to the Dining Hall. She'd be doing the same, as she couldn't stand the idea of even touching her own hair for fear of the grease that she knew she'd accumulated overnight.

During breakfast, Vic sat across from Ollie and next to Rose and James. Albus took a seat next to his brother.

"So," Ollie began once they all had full plates of food in front of them, "What's this about you and a certain Teddy Lupin?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

Vic smiled and blushed profusely.

"They were snogging on the platform!" James added in with a mouthful of food. "I saw it myself. Lips, tongue, the whole lot of it."

Vic's eyes widened, as did Ollie's, and Vic put her hands over her face as an attempt to hide herself from further embarrassment.

"Gee, Vic," Ollie said sarcastically as Victoire pulled her hands away from her face, "Thank you _so_ much for bothering to include _anything_ about this in your letters over the summer."

"I was waiting to tell you," Vic said guiltily.

"What is there to tell besides 'Oh, and by the way I have a boyfriend named _Teddy Lupin!_'?" Ollie spoke so loudly that the attention of many other students turned to them.

"There's more to tell than that," Vic tried to whisper. Her cheeks were red as cherries.

Ollie nearly choked on the bite of sausage he was eating. "More, then?" he exclaimed. "Merlin, you're not…" he glanced at Vic's stomach, "…are you?"

Vic was so shocked at this accusation that she spit the gulp of chocolate milk she'd just taken back into her cup. "No," Vic said firmly. "No."

"Well what is it, then?" Ollie threw his hands up in the air, sending his fork flying across to the Hufflepuff table. A few third years gave him strange looks then turned back to their breakfasts.

"_Accio_ fork," Ollie muttered, and his fork flew back into his hand.

James, Albus, and Rose snickered.

"Yes, Vic," James said, trying to hold back a grin, "what else is there to tell?"

Vic refused to respond to the question, and finished eating her breakfast in peace.

When she had eaten her last bite, she stood up with purpose and walked out of the hall toward the Gryffindor common room.

She could tell from the _click clack_ of footsteps behind her that Ollie had followed her. Victoire stopped in her tracks, waiting for him to catch up. She said nothing.

"I didn't mean to put you on the spot," Ollie said when he was sure Vic wasn't going to speak. Vic's lips remained closed. "Honestly, Vic, I didn't figure it was that big of a deal."

"Well it is!" Vic snapped. "I don't want any of my family knowing just quite yet, okay? My parents would disapprove."

"They'd disapprove of the fact that you have a boyfriend?"

"No," Vic shook her head. "They'd disapprove of the fact that I'm engaged."

Ollie's mouth dropped wide open, but before he could say anything more, Rose Weasley came running up with a piece of parchment in her hand. "Victoire!" she called out to her cousin, "I have a letter for you." Rose's red hair glinted in the light and her numerous freckles made her cheeks look even bigger than normal—and that was saying something. "Dominique found me at breakfast after you'd left," the 11 year old explained. "She told me to give this to you. She said that Cynric delivered it."

Vic smiled widely and snatched the letter from Rose's fingers. "Thanks, Rosie," she said sweetly, and continued walking toward the common room as Rose headed back toward the dining hall.

"Who's Cynric?" Ollie asked.

But Vic didn't answer. She was stuck staring at the intricately designed turquoise "L" on the back of the envelope.

**WOOHOO ALL DONE with this chappie! It is now August 22, guys! …4 days to write one chapter…I blame my busy schedule…and plus I'm sick so I'm not as motivated to write :( ….hope you liked this one :) and in case you didn't figure it out, "then" is a word that Ollie uses a LOT.**


	10. The Ministry

**Wow. So it's been about 6 months since I've updated…unfortunately, I can't promise frequent updates until the summer, but I will try my best until then!**

Harry's POV

It had been a month since the last Death Eater attack. A whole month, and no word from the Death Eaters had come. It was October now, and Harry was sure that Albus was well warmed up to Hogwarts by now. Though he hadn't been able to write to his son, a feat that he regretted immensely, Harry was nearly positive that Albus had made plenty of friends at Hogwarts by now. Harry wondered what house Albus had been sorted into, then put thoughts of his son aside, rolled out of bed, and stumbled down the stairs for breakfast, ignoring Mrs. Black's screaming portrait.

Harry could smell something cooking in the kitchen. He assumed it was some inedible dish of Hermione's. Harry sauntered into the kitchen, plopped down on a chair at the table, and yawned a hello to Ron and Hermione, both of whom were leaning on the kitchen counter by a cutting board with vegetables scattered on and around it.

Hermione turned to Harry. "So what's next?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

Hermione hesitated. "Harry. We've been sulking around this house for a month, waking up to a screaming portrait and creaking stairs every morning. We haven't even talked about where we're going to find any Death Eaters, let alone the horcrux. We need a plan."

Harry sighed. "Can this wait until Ginny's awake, please?"

Ron turned to the counter and began furiously chopping vegetables while Hermione smiled sheepishly and folded her hands together.

"Well," Hermione began. "Ginny is already awake."

Awake already? Harry hadn't even noticed that she wasn't beside him when he woke up. Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Awake? Where is she?"

Hermione's lips were quivering. "Harry, please don't be mad…"

"I can't be mad if I don't know what's happened, Hermione," he said with a hint of annoyance.

Hermione breathed deeply. "She's, uhm. Well, she's gone to…she's gonetotheministryofmagic."

"I'm sorry?" Harry couldn't understand Hermione when she spoke so quickly.

"She's gone to the Ministry of Magic," Ron jumped in.

Harry frowned. "The Ministry? Why would Ginny go to the _Ministry_?"

"Like we said, mate," said Ron, "we've been here for a month and haven't done a thing." Ron stopped chopping veggies and turned to Harry. "It was time we started up again with trying to figure things out. I know you miss everyone back home just as much as I do, and I'm not going to sit around and watch myself turn to dust while everyone else waits and watches while Voldemort comes back again."

Harry was stunned. Ron wasn't usually the one to speak up about anyone's decisions, especially in opposition of them. "Right," he said. "Yeah, sure." He was disappointed that his friends hadn't talked to him before his wife had gone marching off to the Ministry to do Merlin-knows-what, but he understood why they hadn't. If Harry had known, he wouldn't have let Ginny go. "You're right. We need a plan, and we need to be able to back up Ginny while she's at the Ministry. What—exactly—is she doing there?"

"She's trying to sneak in to Kinsley Shacklebolt's office," Hermione said.

Harry tried not to raise his voice, but he ended up doing so anyway. "You mean to tell me that my wife has left this house, walked in to the Ministry of Magic, and is now trying to sneak in to the office of the _Minister himself_? _For what reason_?"

"Harry," Hermione said calmly, "don't be upset. I've told you not to be upset. We didn't have a choice. We need to get moving trying to find this horcrux. If we don't, Voldemort could be back again. We _have_ to do this, Harry, and we have to do it now. We know the Minister has information on dark wizards that even the Auror's don't know. It's classified. If we can get that information, we might be able to piece something together about the last horcrux."

"Okay," Harry said. "How are we going to get inside the Ministry?"

"Harry, you're the head of the Auror Department. Can't you just walk in?"

"Right," Harry said.

* * *

The trio wasted no time in getting to the Ministry. Once they were inside Harry's office, they needed a plan.

"Ginny could be anywhere," Ron said. "At this point, I say we split up to look. Harry, you look closest to Shacklebolt's office. Hermione, search the main floor and the floo network to see if she's just arrived. I'll look in the odd places—the places no one would think of."

Harry and Hermione nodded, and without another word, the trio split.

**Sorry guys :/ that was a sub-par chapter. I'll get back in to the flow of writing soon though :)**


	11. Splitting Up

**Okay, crossing my fingers that I'll actually have two chapters posted in one day…we'll see if I can get this one finished!**

Hermione's POV

Hermione had been walking up and down the main level of the Ministry of Magic, looking for any sign of Ginny Potter. The first and foremost thing she looked for was fiery red hair. Hermione figured that would be a dead giveaway. But Ginny wasn't stupid. She'd have been smart enough to cover her hair to make herself less noticeable—at least Hermione hoped she'd been smart enough to do so. After she'd looked for Ginny's hair, Hermione had begun to search for women with freckles and green eyes. She figured that if she could narrow things down, it wouldn't be so hard to spot Ginny.

Still, she couldn't find her.

Hermione was ready to give up on looking for Ginny when she felt a hand on her shoulder, cold and rigid. She gasped and spun around, laying eyes on the most beautiful turquoise hair she'd ever seen. Talk about being easy to spot, she thought.

"Hermione?" The look on Teddy Lupin's face was a mixture of confusion and worry. "What're you doing here? I thought you and Uncle Harry—"

"Shh!" said Hermione. "You don't know who's listening, Teddy. Don't say anything personal in public in times like these."

"But Herm—"

"Nothing. Personal. Do you understand me?"

Teddy nodded.

"Now," said Hermione sternly, "what are you doing here?"

"But I thought you said nothing personal in public," retorted Teddy.

Hermione frowned, gesturing her hands at Teddy in a prompting manner.

"I'm…uh…I'm here to…get some papers for Uncle Harry while he's gone," Teddy winked obviously. Understanding dawned upon Hermione. Teddy had been covering for Harry at work for the months he'd been absent. After all, Kingsley Shacklebolt wouldn't just ignore the fact that his Head Auror was gone for such a long period of time.

"Oh?" said Hermione curiously. "So you're headed to his office then?"

Teddy nodded.

"Let's walk together," Hermione nearly shouted. She pinched Teddy's forearm, dragging him along beside her for the long walk back to Harry's office.

"My question for you is," Teddy began, "why are _you_ here?"

"That really isn't of your concern, Teddy," Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"Considering you're dragging me unwillingly to the office of the Head Auror, I'd say it's my concern," Teddy whispered loudly.

The couple dodged a mob of witches muttering unhappily.

"I said," Hermione hissed, "that it is none of your concern."

Teddy wasn't one to give up so easily. He prodded on with ease. "This summer I was at Bill and Fleur's house," Teddy began. "I went to…visit Victoire—" he cleared his throat—"and we were attacked by dementors. Just before that, Vic told me that you and Uncle Harry, Ginny, and Ron were headed to the ends of the earth to find something or to do something or that you were on some sort of mission. You showed up at their house bruised, bloodied, and terrified and the four of you were off within days of your arrival. I want to know what's going on."

In the time that it had taken for Teddy to give his speech, the duo had reached Harry's office. Hermione shoved Teddy through the door, stepped through it herself, then closed it quietly behind her. "You want to know what's going on?" Hermione asked. "We're looking for something."

* * *

Harry's POV

Thankfully, Ron had given Harry the easy job. All he had to do was manage to sneak up to Shacklebolt's office, take a peak inside, and leave. It wasn't that difficult. Right? Why were Harry's nerves getting to him so badly? He'd never been so nervous about an event like this before. Why was there anything to be worried about? What could go wrong? The most that could happen is that Harry would run in to Kingsley. He'd have to explain himself and wiggle his way out of a mess with a few white lies, but it would be harmless. So why was he so worried?

Harry walked down the hall to Shacklebolt's office, staring straight at the door of the office of the Minister for Magic. He took a deep breath, remembering the time he'd come here to find Mad-eye Moody's eye embedded in the seeing hole of the door. Thank Merlin it was no longer there.

Harry lifted his hand to knock on the doorknob, flicked his wrist back, and—

"Potter!" the word was spat.

Harry spun on his heel and turned around to find none other than Draco Malfoy sneering down his nose.

"What're you doing?" Malfoy frowned. Harry didn't answer. He didn't want to argue. He tried to move around Malfoy, but the git wouldn't get out of his way. "I asked you a question, Potter," he said. "You've been gone for months—_months—_with no word at all to any of the aurors. What do you expect us all to do with no instruction from anyone? Half of your crew have been wandering around like lost puppies! And you decide to show up here in the middle of the day with no warning and…and…and go knocking on the Minister's door? Who do you think you are, Potter?"

It took all of the restraint that Harry could muster not to shove his wand in Malfoy's chest. "I believe," Harry said calmly, "that I am Head Auror. I apologize—" he coughed the word like a sickness—"that you find my way of running things inadequate and insufficient, but if you're going to work for me, I need your utmost cooperation."

Malfoy's nostrils expanded until Harry was sure a wand would fit straight up them. He knew that Draco hated when he played the "I'm your boss" card, but it was only fitting seeing that Draco did, in fact, work for Harry.

"Listen, Potter," Malfoy spat the word once more, "I don't know what you've been doing for the past few months, but I intend to find out. And when I do, your position as Head Auror may not be as secure as you seem to think it is now."

Harry breathed.

"And trust me when I say, Potter, that I am not the only one with these opinions."

* * *

Ron's POV

"Ginny?" Ron whispered. "Ginny, are you in here?"

Ron had been brave enough to venture into the ladies lavatory. He whimpered, hoping that no other women would catch him in here. After pushing open each and every stall, Ron decided to leave. None of the stalls were occupied, and Ginny wasn't there.

Ron pushed open the door to the lavatory, hitting something hard behind it. He heard a muffled groan.

Ron glanced behind the door to find Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting on the ground, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh!" Ron said. "Minister, I'm so sorry. I'm _so_, so sorry."

Kingsley stood and held out a hand to Ron, who shook it. "Mr. Weasley," he said. "What brings you to the Ministry? And to the, ah, ladies lavatory?"

Ron's cheeks darkened. "I must've seen the wrong sign, sir. My apologies."

"And your business at the Ministry today?"

Ron had hoped he wouldn't repeat that question. "Well, sir, I'm…"

"Carry on," Kingsley said as Ron trailed off.

"I'm here to pick up a few papers for Harry Potter, sir." Ron decided to improvise.

Kingsley nodded. "Ah, yes, our missing Mr. Potter. He's been gone for a long while now, hasn't he? You've heard from him, I suppose?"

Ron gulped. "Well, no. Not exactly."

"But you're picking up some papers for him?"

"Yes, I—"

"So then you must've heard from him."

"I…yes. I've heard from him. He's out there. Criminal fighting. And whatever else." Ron's voice automatically got higher when he was nervous.

Kingsley nodded. "If you don't mind, Ronald, I'd like to take you to my office."

Ron gulped. Kingsley had found him out—he knew it. "Okay," he said.

Once in Kingsley's office, Ron sat in a chair in the corner of the room while Kingsley rummaged through papers in a filing cabinet. For a wizard, Kingsley was fairly organized. "I'd like to give you some papers, Mr. Weasley," Kingsley said.

Ron let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Papers, sir?"

"About a criminal I believe would be useful to Mr. Potter," commented Kingsley. "Ah! Here we are," he said, pulling out a folder full of parchment from the filing cabinet and flitting across the room to hand the information to Ron. "I think this may come in handy with your search." Kingsley winked.

"Thank you, sir," Ron backed out of the room, bowing before he closed the door. After the door was shut behind him, he realized he might've overdone it a bit with the bowing.

Ron shrugged, fled down the hallway, and ran face-first into someone, spilling all of his papers as he did so. He looked down at the woman he had knocked over, extending a hand to help her up.

"Ron!" Ginny smiled. "What're you doing here? And why did you rush into me like that?"

Ron was beaming. Not only had he found his sister, but he'd managed to get information that might help with finding the horcrux as well.

"We all came to find you, Ginny," he said. "We decided it was time to take action. Even Harry agreed."

The duo bent over to pick up the papers that Ron had dropped.

"Ron," Ginny said slowly, "this information…it's all about Death Eaters."

**Wow...so I actually DID manage to write two chapters in a day. I know this one is still a bit rough, but I hope it's at least better than the last one! Thanks to all for reading.**


	12. Padfoot

**It's Sunday, May 12, and it has taken me almost 30 days to write this chapter. Wow. Not much to say besides read and review!**

Victoire's POV

_Vic,_

_ Things are crazier with Uncle Harry than I had previously thought. I know you'd mentioned the possibility of Death Eaters to me, but to be honest, I hadn't believed you until now. I ran into Hermione at the Ministry of Magic about a week ago, and she explained everything to me. The most that I could understand in such a short amount of time was that Uncle Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny are all searching for something. I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but they're calling it a horcrux. I've been traveling with them for the past week now, and it's been rather chaotic. Right now we're stationed at Uncle Harry's godfather's old house. It's dark and smells a bit moldy, and there's a screaming portrait and a whole lot of stuffed heads of house elves on the walls, but other than tha,t I suppose it's okay. It does make me wonder what kind of people Uncle Harry's parents were friends with, though. We've been looking through all of this information that Ron took from the Minister's office. I'm not very good at sorting it due to my lack of experience, but I help where I can. The thing is, Vic…the information we've got is all about former Death Eaters. I'm worried that something is happening that's bigger than what either of us could have expected. I'm worried about the safety of my grandmother and your family. Until I have more information, Vic, stay safe. Don't go to Hogsmeade. I look forward to your reply letter and intend to write you again as soon as I am able._

_ Yours always,_

_ Teddy_

Vic folded Teddy's letter and shoved it to the bottom of her trunk. Hopefully no one would find it there. She'd made her way back to Gryffindor Tower to read it, and had been perched on the edge of her bed for what felt like hours. What was she supposed to do? There was so much running through her mind. What if Teddy was in danger? How could she help? Should she tell anyone else?

Her first thought was to tell James. After all, he'd been with her when she'd found Fred. She shook her head, realizing that she still had 5 more days to wait before she could see the ghost again.

Vic took a piece of parchment from a drawer in her bedside desk and began to configure her reply to Teddy.

_Teddy,_

_I can't even begin to tell you how much I wish I was fighting alongside you now. I think that even though I'm not with you, I still may be able to help. You mentioned that Uncle Harry was looking for something. A horcrux. Let me start by saying that on Friday…I met someone. Don't be worried. He's a ghost. In fact, I think he's my uncle. He introduced himself as "Fred" and claimed that he was Aunt Ginny's brother. I've agreed to meet him again on Thursday for more information. James is coming with me. You already know that I'd heard Uncle Harry mention a horcrux this summer in that house full of Death Eaters. I asked Fred about it, and he explained that a horcrux basically makes someone immortal until it's destroyed. So that makes me wonder…if you're looking for a horcrux to destroy and Death Eaters are chasing you…does that mean that You-Know-Who is still alive? Teddy, you've got to be careful. Don't go getting yourself into something that you can't handle. Promise me you'll be safe. Write back as soon as you can. And…I think I'd like to fight whatever this is with you. _

_ Love,_

_ Victoire_

Victoire sealed her letter shut and ran to the owlery.

* * *

Five days had passed, and tonight was the night that Vic and James would go to see Fred again. As breakfast passed and the day wore on, Vic began to worry. She hadn't received a letter from Teddy since she'd sent him information about horcruxes.

Finally, night fell, and James and Vic were left waiting for the common room to empty out. Finally, the coast was clear, and the duo slipped under James' invisibility cloak.

"James," Vic said when they'd made their way down the first set of stairs outside of the common room, "I'm not sure I remember exactly where we're going."

"Well," James said, "I'd say our best bet is to start where we did the last time. The library isn't that far off, and once we left the restricted section, we didn't take too many turns. And the hallway should be fairly recognizable. After all, it's newer than the rest of the castle."

Vic nodded, and the two made their way through the dark halls, accompanied only by the snores of portraits on the walls around them.

* * *

"You came," Fred sighed delightfully. "I really didn't think you'd come."

James nodded. "We came."

Fred hovered cross-legged on the ground as Vic folded up the invisibility cloak and handed it to James. The two cousins sat on the floor.

"So," said Vic, "the last time James and I were here, we left off on the matter of horcruxes. Horcruxes and…and Padfoots."

Fred snickered darkly. "Padfoot isn't plural, Victoire. Padfoot is a name. I'm surprised that after seventeen years in your family, you haven't heard it until now. Then again," Fred's mock smile dropped, "you'd never heard of me either, had you?"

Victoire was taken aback. "Never heard of you?" she managed to muster. "I, uh. Why would you think we hadn't heard of you, _Uncle_ Fred?" Vic made sure to put an extra emphasis on the word "uncle." Maybe it would make him smile, she thought.

Fred did in fact smile, but his smile was false, almost mocking. "They hadn't told you about me," he muttered. "If they had, the shock on your faces wouldn't have been so obvious when you found me last week. Now what I'd like to know is _why_ they didn't tell you who I was. Why didn't they tell you what I died for? Didn't they tell you that George and I were attached at the hip? How I was there for him in every moment? We were beaters together on the Quidditch team, George and I." A single tear streamed down the ghost's face.

"That was why we recognized you last week," James said softly. "After we'd left, we realized something. You look _exactly_ like our Uncle George."

"Yeah," said Fred. "I do. I look exactly like him, all of me but one ear. That was the only way mum could tell us apart. Before that accident, she got us mixed up all the time." Fred grinned a genuinely happy grin. "I miss him," he said sadly.

"Were you his older brother?" Vic asked curiously, "Or his younger one?"

Fred grinned from ear to ear. "George and I were twins," he said. "The only ones in the family never to make it as prefects at school. We took pride in that. We were the greatest pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen. If the two of you could have seen it…" Fred traveled off inside his own mind, reliving a legendary prank, no doubt.

Vic cleared her throat, hoping to bring the ghost back to the present. "Fred," she said nearly inaudibly. The ghost's eyes snapped back to the present and locked with Vic's. "Could you tell us about a Padfoot?"

Fred grimaced. "It's a long story," he said. "I'm not sure if you'd really want to be bothered with—"

"Please," James blurted. "Please explain."

Fred sighed. "Have the two of you ever heard of the Marauder's Map?"

The cousins shook their heads.

"The Marauder's Map is a map of Hogwarts. It shows every room and every _person_ who is in the school at the time."

"That's not possible," Vic said.

"Nothing's impossible, dear," Fred grinned. "The Map is the first place I saw the name Padfoot. When George and I first found it, we couldn't figure out how to open it. The charm on the Map presented us with insults from four blokes who called themselves Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." Fred stared at James.

"What is it?" James asked.

Fred's grin dropped. "I just thought that maybe…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Fred started again. "Prongs, James, was your grandfather. Of course, George and I didn't know that when we first found the map, but we found out in time. Your grandfather, James Sr., was an unregistered animagus. I'm not supposed to know this, and neither are the two of you. In fact, you aren't supposed to know any of what I'm telling you. Any of it. Do you understand?"

James and Vic nodded vigorously.

"James had three best friends. Their names were Remus, Peter, and Sirius. Remus was Moony, Peter was Wormtail, and Sirius…well, Sirius was Padfoot. They were named according to their animagus forms. Sirius' form was a black dog."

"Sirius," James said, his eyes wide. "But that's my middle name."

Fred laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What happened to them all?" Vic asked.

Fred's laughter faltered. "They all died," he said. "Every single one of them."

"If they're all dead," Vic said, "then why was my father talking about Padfoot with my aunts and uncles?"

"I don't know," Fred said.

"You said that Sirius was a black dog?" James asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Fred nodded. "Huge."

"Almost wolf-like? Tangled fur?"

"Yes," Fred hesitated, "why do you ask?"

James gulped. "The night my mum took me to the Dursley's—" James spat the name—"I saw something in the brush on the side of the road. Mum saw it too, I know she did. I tried to explain what I'd seen, but I didn't have time before Dad…before he…" James was nearly crying now, and Vic put a comforting arm around him.

"I'm sure your father's fine," Vic said. "He was perfectly healthy at the platform when you last saw him, remember? And I'd bet that your mum's doing fabulous too. You don't have anything to worry about, okay?"

James nodded, swallowing back his tears. "What I saw…the thing I'd never gotten the chance to tell anyone about…I think I saw Sirius."


	13. Trust

**Oh my gosh, guys, it's been so long since I've sat down and written anything! I've been so busy with finals and crap that I haven't had the time or motivation. But oh well. Here goes…**

Vic's POV

"You…what?" Fred nearly shouted.

James slumped his shoulders over, suddenly doubting his previous statement. "I swear I did," he said defensively. "I swear I saw him. A big black dog. The thing looked like it was going to kill me."

"Oddly enough, James," said Vic, "you're making sense."

James sighed with relief. "Have you seen him too?"

"No," Vic hesitated, "but I heard Uncle Harry talking about him awhile back."

"How long ago is 'awhile back'?" asked Fred.

Vic breathed. "This summer when Aunt Hermione showed up at shell cottage along with Hugo and Rose, I followed my dad and Hermione back to her mother's house for answers." Vic directed her speech more toward Fred than James, since James had already heard the story from Teddy on their way to the platform. And he'd probably heard more details of the summer from their many cousins at Hogwarts. She finished her explanation with "and that's when I heard Uncle Harry talking about Padfoot. He said that's who had saved he and Lily. That's who had come to his rescue. A big black dog."

"Poor Lily," James shook his head. "Still stuck at the Dursley's."

Fred seemed to choke on air. "Lily? I'm sorry, Lily _who_ is _where_?"

James looked at Fred as if he were insane. "Lily Potter! She's at the Dursley's."

"You're telling me," said Fred, "that _the Lily Potter_ is on a sweet visit with her sister and moron of a brother-in-law?"

"What're you talking about?" James shouted slowly, "I'm telling you that my sister Lily is stuck with the most mundane lot of muggles I've ever had the displeasure of associating myself with."

At that, Fred seemed to calm himself down. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I suppose I thought you were talking about someone else."

"You were thinking of Lily Evans," realized Victoire, "weren't you?"

"You mean my grandmother?" questioned James.

Fred nodded. "I apologize. You know…it might be best if I know…everything that's going on right now."

With that, James and Vic recapped their tales from the summer and brought Fred up to date on all of the family business. Who was with who, which children belonged to which parents, and where they all were now.

"I'm sorry," Vic said, "we've strayed from our original subject. Padfoot."

Fred nodded. "Of course," he said. "Sirius Black. After a mishap at the end of my seventh year, Sirius ended up dead. That was twenty-one years ago."

James shook his head. "If he died twenty-one years ago, how is he alive now?"

"I don't know," Fred said. "You can't even be sure if he actually is alive, James. Can you?"

"I know what I saw, Uncle Fred," said James. "I know I didn't imagine it."

"I don't think that's what he's saying," Victoire jumped in. "I think he's asking if you're sure the black wolf you saw was Padfoot."

"Well it wasn't a sodding pig, now was it?" James' temper blossomed.

"Easy, James," said Fred. "I know that you saw a black dog. A big, black dog. I'm just not sure if what you saw was actually Sirius."

"If it wasn't him," proposed Vic, "what else could it be?"

"I'm not quite sure," said Fred, "but I don't like this. Death Eaters back, talk of You-Know-Who, dementors out of their guard of Azkaban, and men coming back to life. I don't like any of this, Victoire."

"What are we going to do about it?" she asked.

"Whatever suits you," said Fred simply.

James looked at Vic and nodded, giving the okay for her to make a decision. After hesitating, she began slowly, "I want to leave Hogwarts."

James nearly jumped back from the blow of Vic's words. "You _what_? Are you absolutely insane, Victoire? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Hogwarts is the only safe place we've got, Vic."

"What if they're just telling us that, James?" Vic snapped. "What if it really isn't as safe as we believe it to be. If You-Know-Who got through Dumbledore's barriers back in the Second Wizarding War, who knows what he's capable of now, and who knows who's powerful enough to stop him. So now, James, anywhere else is just as safe as here."

"Wait a minute," Fred put up his arms in a halting gesture, "since when did we start talking about a war? You-Know-Who isn't back, unless you forgot something in your story from earlier."

Vic shook her head. "He's not back, no. But after all this talk of Death Eaters and whatnot, I'd rather be safe than sorry when he shows up knocking at my doorstep. Listen, I know it sounds insane to leave, but I think I'd be making the right decision. If I left, I could help Uncle Harry. James, you could even come with me. And maybe I'd even be with Teddy and if I could help at all with what they're all trying to do, I'd feel so much more useful than I do now, sitting here in daily lessons."

James lifted his head high. "That's what this is about," he said coldly. "You want to leave so that you can be with Teddy, don't you?"

Vic didn't answer.

"Don't you, Victoire?"

"James," she said, "it's not just Teddy…"

"But he's a big part of it, isn't he?"

Vic sighed.

"Who's Teddy?" asked Fred curiously.

"Teddy Lupin," sneered James. "Victoire's little boyfriend."

"You said Lupin?" questioned Fred.

James nodded.

"I knew his father," said Fred.

Victoire made a small noise and the boys turned toward her. "His father," she said. "He's been dead for nineteen years."

"So have I," said Fred. "Remus Lupin. Moony. He was one of the four Marauders. He was a werewolf, too."

"I'm sorry, he was a _what_?" Victoire walked up to Fred so that her face was only inches from his.

"A werewolf," repeated Fred.

"No," said Victoire. "Teddy's mother was an animorphmagus. His father was a normal wizard."

"Until he was bitten," argued Fred.

Vic's eyes darted back and forth. "Why wouldn't he have told me?"

Fred snorted. "Having a werewolf in the family isn't exactly something that most wizards are proud of, Victoire."

"You seem to be fine with the matter," Vic snapped.

"The Weasley's are a more accepting family than most. You should know that by now."

Vic turned and crossed her arms. "James," she huffed.

James made a small peep. "Yes?"

"Give me the cloak. We're leaving."

"But Vic," argued James, "we need more answers."

"We can get those later. Or elsewhere. Right now, we're leaving."

"Victoire," Fred tried to reason, "you can't leave now. There's so much more to tell you, so much that I can help you with."

Victoire almost laughed. "You're going to help me? Or am I going to help you?"

"I'm sorry?" Fred was caught off guard.

"I've given you the story of my family, Uncle Fred. You've been apart from them for the past nineteen years. What is it that you're wanting out of these visits?"

"I…I don't want anything," said Fred nervously.

"You can't be so selfless, Uncle."

Fred sighed. "I want…I want to see George," he said softly.

"Yeah," said Vic, "I bet you do." With that, Vic threw the cloak over both her shoulders and James', opened the door, and left Fred floating alone, waiting for a brother that he knew would never come back to him.

**Well, that's all I've got for today. Please review!**


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